When forming a conventional comb, such as those used in normal grooming of human hair, it is conventional to mold the entire comb in a single piece from some relatively hard material such as plastic or metal. With sizable gaps between teeth of a conventional comb, it is possible to use a conventional mold for the entire comb and quickly and efficiently mass-produce them.
However, certain specialty combs have structural and manufacturing requirements that make it impossible to use a conventional molding procedure for manufacture. One type of these specialty combs is the fine tooth comb used in the removal of lice from hair. The head louse is an external parasite known to occasionally infest the hair of a mammal, including humans. Removal of adult lice from hair can be a routine procedure requiring perhaps only a washing of the infested hair with special shampoo. However, these parasites glue their eggs, or "nits," directly to individual shafts of hair, making their removal more difficult. It is important that the lice and nits be removed as soon as possible once an infestation is discovered. In addition to the uncomfortable itching caused by bites of the lice, they may transmit pathogens that cause various infectious diseases, such as typhus. It is also important that all the nits be removed, as one remaining nit can begin a new infestation.
The most common method of removing nits from hair is to use a fine tooth comb having gaps between its teeth approximating the average thickness of a human hair. Thus, as the comb is run through the hair, the teeth will straddle the hair shafts and physically remove the nits from each individual strand.
Unfortunately, since the gaps between the teeth of such combs should be on the order of 0.004 to 0.01 inch, it becomes impractical to create a mold that can form these teeth in a quick or efficient process. Alternatively, machining a comb to this specification requires highly accurate equipment. One known alternate method of forming fine tooth combs is to use a multilaminate structure, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,671,303. In this method, each tooth is stamped individually, integral with a corresponding body portion. A plurality of these tooth/body laminates are then stacked side by side and connected with a connecting rod or stake running through the body portions. While this method can produce a comb with extremely narrow inter-tooth gaps, it involves a large number of production steps and assembly parts, as well as complicated machinery to stamp, stack and connect the teeth.
It is known in the art of louse and nit removal that electric fields or the application of electric current near or through the nits can aid in the demise and removal of lice and nits. It is also known that the electric energy can be applied through a comb by having adjacent teeth electrically insulated from each other and connected to opposite electric poles. However, the conventional molded or stacked laminate version of a fine tooth comb does not lend itself easily to electrification, as either the entire comb or all of the adjacent laminates are formed of metal and thus are electrically connected.
It is thus an object of the invention to provide a comb structure having a minimum of assembly parts and a method for manufacturing the comb having a minimum of assembly steps.
It is a further object of the invention that the comb be easily adapted to accommodate electrical connection.
It is another object of the invention that the comb be simple and cost effective to manufacture.